Henry wiped the sweat off his brow, and observed the decoration of his courtyard, it wasn't anything too luxurious, but, at least it gave the space a more elegant feeling.
-" What do you think, Thomas?" Henry was still in doubt if this arrangement was good enough.
-" It's not exactly luxurious, but, it won't bring Master any shame." Thomas was exhausted, this was the first day since joining Henry that he truly felt as if he was working. " If we finished here, I have to go back to the kitchen to prepare the tea." Thomas had still plenty more to arrange so he quickly left the courtyard.
After finishing the last detail of the courtyard, Henry decided to finally go prepare himself. He even had purchased a good robe, as all his clothes were too casual for something like this.
-" Sigh..." Henry felt his stomach churning in anxiety as he observed himself in the mirror. " It won't be anything too troublesome, they will just come and thank me, I don't have to worry so much." Henry reassured himself and put on his mask.
He felt a strange sense of confidence as he put on the mask, almost as if he had truly become Venerable H. Henry returned to the courtyard and sat down under a small peach tree, and waited patiently for Maria to arrive with the guest.
-" Is this Venerable H's residence?" Hugh's eyes shone as he observed the entrance of the villa, the place wasn't that big, but it looked well-maintained and taken care of.
-" Yes... Venerable H is currently residing here." Maria felt a bit awkward, at first she thought that only the people that went missing would come, but, she never expected that so many people would attend this meeting.
Many of the family members of the people that Venerable H had saved had come to pay their respect as a show of gratitude, and what made her even more astonished was the presence of Mister Hugh and his friend.
Maria took a deep breath and was about to knock on the villa's door, however, Thomas was already waiting for them.
-" Welcome, please enter Master is already waiting in the courtyard." Thomas's face was serious as he greeted the guests.
The entire group was filled with curiosity as they entered the villa, the mysterious man had captivated their imagination, so they were all looking forward to meeting him once again.
They all thought that the villa looked a bit bland, but, some cultivators had the tradition of absenting luxury and other flesh desires.
-" Please.." Thomas opened the door to the courtyard and gestured for the group to enter it. " Master is already waiting for you all."
Hugh nodded at the boy and exchanged looks with Glen, the Chief Physician of the Roayl academy. -" Are you ready?" Hugh clenched his fist in anticipation, he had been itching to meet the man again.
-" Venerable H... I wonder where such a man came from." Glen's eyes gleamed as he thought back to the story that Hugh had told him.
Henry watched as the big group entered the courtyard, there were way more people than he thought, but, he didn't lose his composure. " Welcome to my humble abode." Henry gestured for the group to sit down near the peach tree. "Apologies for the lack of seats, I didn't expect this many people to visit me today."
The faces of everyone in the group twitched, they all thought that the mysterious man was hitting that he was annoyed by the number of visitors.
-" We are the ones that should be apologizing..." An old lady bowed as she spoke. " Visiting you suddenly and in such a big group is sure a hassle, but, we all wanted to show our gratitude for helping in the rescue of our families."
Henry recognized the old lady, she was one of the people who went to rescue the unconscious group in the cave. -" You don't have to thank me, after all, I was only helping my friend."
-" Still we should at least show our gratitude to you." The old lady took a small box from her spatial ring. " I would like to offer this gift to you." The old lady opened the small box, showing a milk-white pearl. " This is a Deep Sea Pearl, a treasure that can boost the water elemental affinity of a cultivator."
Henry grinned, he never expected to gain something from the visitors. " I gladly accept this offering." Henry smiled and gestured for Thomas to accept the gift.
Many of the people in the group regretted not taking the lead and being the first to offer the gift to the man, so they all stood up and retrieved the items that they came to offer.
-" Me and my grandson came here for the same reason." Another old man took out a small dagger and presented it to Henry. " This dagger is called a Shadow Kiss, a fourth-level dagger that is in my family for generations." The man bowed as he continued to speak. " A small price to pay in exchange for your help in saving my beloved grandson."
-" I was completely devasted when I first discovered that my daughter when missing, the grief was so overwhelming that I could barely eat or sleep." Another man showed a golden bracelet. " This treasure is named Phantom Silk Wristbands, I hope that you accept this."
-" I came here to gift you this Ghost-Forged Wool Mantle, it isn't up to par with what everyone else brought, but, it's what I can offer." Another lady presented her gift to Henry. " You have my full gratitude for saving my niece."
Henry was astonished by the number of treasures, and accepted them all without any thought, after all, being showered with gifts was something that anyone would be appreciative of.
There were still some more people that remained silent in the group, but, it looked like they hadn't brought any gifts as they all had anguished expressions. -" I thank you all for the gifts." Henry cupped his fists and bowed to the group, before returning his attention to the people that remained in silence.
-"Uh... Sorry for not bringing any offering." A young man with blonde hair stood up, his face filled with shame. " Just like me, many of them came from poor families that struggle to make ends meet, and can barely afford one good treasure, so we can only offer your our unending gratitude and respect for your help." The man bowed as he finished speaking, his face completely warped in humiliation as he felt the gaze of mockery he was receiving from some of the wealthier people in the courtyard.
Following the man, all the visitors who stayed silent repeated his last word and bowed in unison.
Henry felt pity for them, he knew the humiliation of being poor so he empathized with them. -" Please raise your head..." Henry thought carefully about what he was about to say. " For an honorable man, the respect and admiration of those around him are more valuable than any material gain." Henry stood up and bowed to the group.
Henry's actions shocked everyone in the courtyard, especially the group who came without a gift.
The blond man tried his best to hold back his tears and kneeled to the mysterious man. -" Bowing to someone like me isn't fit for someone of your grandeur, please accept my undying gratitude and service." The blond man never expected for Venerable H to show him so much face, even so, to receive a bow from someone like him.
Everyone in the courtyard was frozen, and it took a few seconds for the rest of the group to follow the blond man's gesture. -" Please accept my undying gratitude and service." The people who came without an offering all bowed to Henry and shouted. To them, just the humility that Venerable H had shown was enough to convenience them to follow the man.
Henry smiled as he saw the faces of the people who had showered him with gifts, just a few seconds ago they were all grinning in mockery.
It didn't take long for the first group to leave the courtyard and depart from Henry's villa, leaving only Hugh and his friend. Henry had chosen to talk to them separately as he now knew the man's status.
-" Sorry for making you wait." Henry clapped his hands and Thomas entered the courtyard with a teapot and three cups. " Now we can finally talk in peace."
Glen gulped as he gazed at the man, he didn't believe Hugh at first, but, he was captivated by the way that the man acted. " For an honorable man, the respect and admiration of those around him are more valuable than any material gain..." Glen repeated the man's words and continued. " Only a truly venerable person is fit to speak such words." Glen was deeply impacted by the man's words, his family was originally very poor, and were only able to ascend the social circle due to his talent and hard work.